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0. ,P. COBB. Machine for Asserting Nails.

No. 225,919 Patented Mar. 30, 1880.

N. PETERS, PHOTO-UTHOGRAPHEIL WASRINGTON. D. O.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OLIVER P. COBB, OF AURORA, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF OF HIS RIGHT TO JOHN BLACK, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR ASSORTING NAILS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 225,919, dated March 30, 1880.

Application filed July 15, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OLIVER P. COBB, of the city of Aurora, in the county of Dearborn and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Machine for Assorting Nails, of which the following is a specification.

My invention in general consists in a novel and cheap construction of a machine for screening and picking nails, whereby the operation of screening and picking the nails is rendered automatic, and the perfect nails are separated from the dirt, dust, scale, slivers, and headless nails and are conveyed into the keg ready for shipment, and the said imperfect nails and other refuse are deposited in a receptacle, whence they can be taken to be reworked.

Another advantage of my novel construction is, that it is exceedingly durable, the parts being so constructed as to prevent liability of getting out of order and so as to reduce the wear of the sameto a minimum.

The nature of my invention will be fully understood from the following description of the machine and its mode of operation.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of the lower portion of the same, the screen and shaking apron being removed. Fig. 3 is a section of said machine, taken at the dot-ted line m or of Fig. l and looking from left to right. Fig. 4 is a view of the device for shaking the shaking apron, together with a section of the latter, looking from left to right.

A indicates the screen, composed of horizontal parallel bars B and rings 0 C. These bars are preferably round, and are placed at such a distance apart as to permit anything of less size than the perfect heads of the nails which are to be screened and picked to pass between them.

The preferable mode of attaching the rings- 0 O and bars B together is as follows: The rings are, on the inside, provided with circular recesses or seats, into which the ends of all but three of the bars fit. These three bars are each provided at one end with a head, the other end being provided with a screw-thread. These bars are passed through holes in one ring, as G, situated at equal distances apart,

and the other ends are screwed into the other ring. The heads on these bars, coming against the ring 0, hold the rings together and the other bars, B, in position in the recesses in said rings.

The screen is supported by and rotates upon friction-wheels D, as shown, the rings 0 O resting upon said wheels, and thereby enabling the screen to revolve without wear or friction, and also to be removed at will, and another screen with smaller orlarger openings between the bars, according to the size of nails to be screened, easily and quickly substituted therefor. These friction-wheels are journaled in the supporting-frame E. I prefer to construct the journals (1 of the wheels D with enlarged globular heads I), as shown, which aid in retaining the journals in position, and at the same time, by reason of their large bearingsurfaee, diminish the wear upon the bed in which the journal lies.

The journals a b as arranged do not require any devices for keeping them in their appropriate places, the pressure of the superineumbent screen upon the frictionwheels being amply sufficient to keep the journals a b in position.

Each of the friction-wheels is provided with a flange, d, which is placed at the right-hand side of each ring 0 and O, as the-right-hand 8o end-i. 6., the discharge endof the screen is lower than the other end, in order to facilitate the movement of the nails through the screen. The flanges d prevent the screen from riding off the'wheels.

When the screen is placed so that the front and rear flanges are on the same level one of the flanges d must be changed so as to be at the opposite side of itsring.

The apron or chute H, which receives the nails, &c., from the nail-making machine, is, at its forward end, provided with projecting journalstuds h, journaled in vertical supports J, fixed to the frame, and its rear end, which is somewhat lower than the other end, is pro- 5 vided at the under side with a support, K, projecting vertically downward and resting upon a ratchet-wheel, L, (see Fig. 4,) which latter is concentrically fixed upon the operating-shaft M, journaled in the cross-pieces e c of frame E, as shown. The delivering-mouth of this apron extends a sufficient distance into the interior of the screen to effectively deliver the nails, dirt, scale, slivers, &c., entirely within the screen and at a sufficient distance from the ring 0 to prevent any of said nails, 850., from falling or working out at the front end of the machine. The sides and front end of this apron are provided with upwardly-projecting sides or edges, which prevent the nails, &c.,

-deposited thereon from slipping off its said front or side edges The screen is operated by means of annular gear N, attached to and concentric with ring 0, and meshing into a pinion, P, on the operating-shaft M.

The advantage of this device is, that it ohviates the necessity of having arms or spokes extending from the ring 0 to the center of the latter and there united to an operating-shaft, which last-named construction would prevent the proper insertion of the end of the apron H and theconstant and uniform delivery of nails, &c., from the apron into the screen.

At the right-hand end of the screen is a delivery-apron, S, which extends underafiange, T, projecting from the rear side of ring 0, and also extends beyond the edge of the frame.

This apron is preferably concave on its upper surface, so as to fit closely at all points under the annular flange T.

A device for communicating at stated desired intervals a jar or shock to the screen, in order to facilitate the action of the screen by loosening the nails, &c., which stick between the bars, is described as follows: A ring, V, concentric to the screen, attached to the latter near or at the middle thereof, and fastened by any appropriate means, but preferably by passing the bars B through the same, as shown, is provided exteriorly with ratchet-teeth, as shown. Against these teeth a pawl, 'W, is caused to press either by a spring or a weight. In the present instance the pawl is made of spring metal, and so bent as to be itself a spring.

A box, X, directly beneath the screen, is supported and slides upon slides f, preferably arranged, as here shown, transversely to the frame.

The mode in which my machine operates is as follows: A screen provided with openings between its bars of the requisite size to retain the perfect nails to be screened being placed in position upon the friction-wheels D, the 0perating-shaft M is set in motion, and the nails,

slivers, scale, dust, 850., from a number of nail-machines (as the present invention enables me to screen and pick in one machine the product of alarge number of nail-machines) are conveyed into the apron H, which conveys the same into the revolving screen, the apron being assisted in this function of delivery by the rotating ratchet-wheel L and support K, whereby the apron is caused to vibrate vertically and shake the nails, &c., downward into the screen. As soon as they arrive in the screen the dust, scale, slivers, and nails without heads, or with heads imperfect and under the standard size, begin to drop between the bars into the box X, and this screening operation is facilitated by means of the revolutions of the screen, which shake up and overset the mass of good nails and refuse, and allow the latter to sift between the perfect nails, and thence through the bars into said box X, and is further facilitated by the jarring of the screen by the ratchet V and spring W. This latter movement also assists in freeing the perfect nails which may stick bet-ween the bars from their stationary positions.

The combined movements aforesaid cause the perfect nails to steadily gravitate to the lower rear end of the screen, whence they pass, freed from dust, scale, slivers, and imperfectlyheaded nails, into the apron S, and thence slide into an appropriate receiving-receptacle,

preferably the keg, which, when filled, can be headed, ready for shipment.

The aforesaid screenings received in box X may at any time be removed by sliding out the said box X, and are then tobe reworked.

When preferred, the teeth on ring N may be dispensed with, and a band be stretched over said ring, and a pulley substituted for pinion P on shaft M, or a friction-pulley, in place ofpinion P, be made to engage the ring N.

What I claim as new and of my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a nail-screen, the combination of the cylinder A, composed of cylindrical bars and the rings 0 and O, the latter being provided with annular gear N, pinion P, flanged frictionwheels D, apron H, support K, ratchet L, annular ratchet V, spring-pawl WV, and apron S, all constructed and operated substantially as and for the purposes specified.

OLIVER P. COBB.

Attest:

E. H. Fos'rER, J No. W. STREHLI. 

